New Above Ground Pool Owner

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vbharrington

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May 2, 2017
26
Gaffney, SC
Just wanted to introduce myself to the forum. My husband and I have 5 children (ages 20, 17, 6 year old twins, and 4) We were supposed to have our 33' Serena AGP installed 2 weeks ago, but since ordering the pool we've had a crazy amount of rain. We ordered "wedding cake stairs" for the pool, because I have an Achilles' injury that prevents me from climbing ladders to get in or out of the pool. My husband grew up with a chlorine pool, while my mom used Bacquicil (sp?) in our pool, but we have to come to an agreement on what chemicals we will be using - we had considered salt, but the pool store told us that using salt would void the warranty on the pool. We have friends in Louisiana (we are in SC) that use copper as a filtration system (not sure how that works - or if they still have to use chemicals as well)

I'm excited to learn from everyone here on the forum!
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: You did great to steer-away from Baquacil or copper. Expensive and/or adds copper to the water which is a big no-no. Regular bleach is the best sanitizer. Please review and bookmark the vital links you see below in my sig and you'll be off to a great start. Nice to have you with us.
 
Hey there not-too-distant-neighbors! Welcome!

I would suggest ignoring the pool store and using a SWG which is chlorine so I can't imagine what they've got against it? But if not a SWG, go with just regular household bleach and a GOOD test kit (TF-100 is my preference, avail at TFTestkits.net ).

Your older kids could easily manage to keep up on the testing and dosing with a daily bit of bleach. Occasionally brushing the pool too... you're all set!

Maddie :flower: (a fellow Achilles rupture sufferer. OUCH!)
 
Well the pool has been installed and is currently filling up! The pool installers broke a drain pipe from our laundry room while digging out for the pool, but that's a minor fix compared to the excitement of having the pool up! Hopefully work on the deck will begin this weekend. I've ordered the TF-100 test kit and am hoping it will be here soon. In the event that the pool is filled before the kit arrives, what does anyone suggest we add from the get go? My husband wants to just dump a gallon of bleach and a box of baking soda in it and call it a day - he has also used test strips in the past rather than the more indepth kits. I've basically had to assume all responsibility for keeping the pool clean just to keep him from dumping clorox and calling it a day.
 
what does anyone suggest we add from the get go?
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If your pool is full of water before the kit arrives, you should be able to do the following:
- Use the Poolmath calculator to determine how much granular stabilizer to add. With summer almost here, you should aim for a CYA goal of about 40. Start soaking that stabilizer in a white sock as soon as the pool is full.
- On day one, while waiting on the stabilizer to dissolve, add regular bleach for an FC goal of about 3 ppm. Again, use the calculator for dosage. The next day, if your kit hasn't arrived yet, add the same amount of bleach (3 ppm) to keep the water sanitized.

Don't add anything else (even baking soda) yet. Wait until the kit arrives to test pH and TA, then adjust from there. It can wait. Hope that helps.
 
Ok, well, bleach is fine... how big is the pool? If it is in the 10-15k range 1/2 jug per day of 8.25% regular plain bleach is a good idea. If you don't have the pump up and working yet just brush it around. If the pool is >15k (which is a pretty arbitrary number in my mind actually) I'd dump a whole gallon (or 121 ounces when they cheap out on it) of bleach in daily. When you get your test kit run a full panel of tests and bring back your results.

Tell Hubby to NOT put any baking soda in that water!! You don't know if you'll even need it! Ok? :rant:

A pic of the final pool and deck is always appreciated around here..... :splash:

Maddie :flower:
 
Welcome! I have a new above ground installed in Jan and our pool store also said no SWG or it voids the warranty. So I've been using liquid chlorine from Pinch a Penny. I've been diligently taking care of the pool and learning the tfp way. It's easy once you start.
 
Texas Splash said:
If your pool is full of water before the kit arrives, you should be able to do the following:
- Use the Poolmath calculator to determine how much granular stabilizer to add. With summer almost here, you should aim for a CYA goal of about 40. Start soaking that stabilizer in a white sock as soon as the pool is full.
- On day one, while waiting on the stabilizer to dissolve, add regular bleach for an FC goal of about 3 ppm. Again, use the calculator for dosage. The next day, if your kit hasn't arrived yet, add the same amount of bleach (3 ppm) to keep the water sanitized.

Don't add anything else (even baking soda) yet. Wait until the kit arrives to test pH and TA, then adjust from there. It can wait. Hope that helps.
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This^^

You can try using poolamth. It's really easy. If you're uncertain, tell us what you figured and we can tell you if you're right or not. It would be easy for us to tell you, but then you wouldn't learn how to do it yourself, and any pool store will be delighted to tell you what to add. Ka-ching. Hint: start with the how-to. There are features you may miss otherwise.

And yes, it's safe to get in right away, if you're brave enough to face the chill. You bathe in the same source water. It won't kill you. If the pH is out of whack, you might get red eyes, but that's about it.
 
Ok, I went to pool math and for a 28,800 gallon pool (I got that number from pool math also, based on the height and diameter of our pool) It called for 9lbs 10oz of granular stabilizer or 3 gallons of liquid stabilizer. This is from me entering 0 as the "Now" number, and 40 as the "Target" Is this right? Hopefully my kit will be here soon - I'm so anxious to get started on the pool!
 
Yes, that's how the PoolMath app works. I didn't check your numbers cause you seem to have a good handle on it

Since CYA is a bugger to get OUT of a pool if it has too much, its always best to creep up on the desired level so you don't risk overshooting. I'd start with just 7 or 8 pounds of granular CYA and wait a while to see where that takes you.

Maddie :flower:
 

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Thanks Richard - I thought the calculator took into consideration wall height vs water height - when I reentered the numbers, I got the same info as you. I picked up a 5lb bag of stabilizer yesterday - I was thinking I could start with that, at least until I get my TF100 kit next week. Also, I figured it would be easier to add more later than try to drain water to lower the CYA.
 
vbharrington said:
Thanks Richard - I thought the calculator took into consideration wall height vs water height - when I reentered the numbers, I got the same info as you. I picked up a 5lb bag of stabilizer yesterday - I was thinking I could start with that, at least until I get my TF100 kit next week. Also, I figured it would be easier to add more later than try to drain water to lower the CYA.
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You got it, now. Scrolling down to Effects of Adding Chemicals, it says 80 oz stabilizer will raise CYA by 23 in your pool. It might not cloud enough to get a reading on the test, but it'll be there.
 
vbharrington said:
Richard, I just noticed that you are in San Dimas, CA - the setting of on of my favorite movies as a tween (who am I kidding, I'm 40 and still love it) Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure! Do people mention that to you a lot?
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Yes.

And there really is a Circle K downtown. It's across from City Hall one way and the Post Office the other. No pay phone outside, though. :(

On the 50th anniversary of incorporation, there were big banners announcing it with the catchphrase, "A most excellent Adventure."
 
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